UK food manufacturers: global shortage of food-grade recycled resin makes it difficult to comply with plastic packaging tax

From April 1, 2022, the UK will officially impose a plastic packaging tax of £200 (about RMB 1,900) per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured or imported into the UK in quantities of more than 10 tonnes per year and using less than 30% recycled plastic. However, a number of food manufacturers have raised objections to the implementation of the new UK packaging tax.

Three categories of products exempt from the tax

It is understood that three categories of products are defined as being excluded from the tax and enjoy exemption from the tax regardless of the proportion of recycled material used. The first category is where the product in the packaging needs to be used in conjunction with the packaging throughout the life of the product, for example: toolboxes, first aid kits, headphone or earbud cases, nail sets, glasses cases, CD, DVD and video game cases, board game cases, etc.

The second category is where the packaging is an integral part of the product and includes water cartridge filters, printer or toner cartridges, inhalers, tea bags, room deodorisers, perforated rice bags, lighters, dental floss boxes, etc.

The third category is designed to display merchandise and includes merchandise shelves, merchandise display stands, etc.

New packaging tax questioned

Publicly available information shows that many food manufacturers have raised objections to the implementation of the new packaging tax in the UK, as it will force them to raise prices and potentially increase inflation.

Several large food companies and industry representatives are reported to have told the Financial Times that businesses are having difficulty understanding and complying with the plastic packaging tax that will come into effect on April 1.

These food manufacturers say that the government does not offer any exemptions for materials that come into contact with food and cannot be recycled.

As a result, these companies have no choice but to pay the tax, a move that has led to increased costs that could be passed on to other businesses.